The Perfect Remedy
by Odyssion
Summary: “If you had the choice of saving me again... would you still take me with you?” [Kazahaya x Rikuo, PWP oneshot, angsty fluff]


**The Perfect Remedy**

_Disclaimer:_ This is a purely non-profit story for entertainment purposes only. The characters of Legal Drug are property of their respective owners.

"If you had the choice of saving me again… would you still take me with you?" Kazahaya x Rikuo, PWP one-shot, angsty fluff

_Author's Notes:_ I had this general idea for a while… so I thought to use it to honour Legal Drug (since I've yet to write a fanfic for that fandom). Since the 4th book is not yet out while I'm writing this, please keep that in mind if you happen to read this fic afterwards and some facts aren't correct. I managed to persuade my manga supplier to tell me when the next LD will be out (since Tokyopop hasn't updated their site), and he said, in no certain terms, no later than October. So, enjoy the slash.

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**The Perfect Remedy**

He had just finished pouring out the soup when the kettle started to whistle, a long, shrill sound that was more than irritating enough to get anyone to shut it up almost immediately. Rikuo almost turned with the full bowl of soup in his hand, and realized just in time to save himself unnecessary pain. Scowling, he lifted the kettle off the stove to put it on an unused one, then turned off the gas. Taking a mug out of the cupboard, he poured some cold-remedy tea mix into it, and added hot water. Steam rose like a ghostly lover to melt into the air's embrace while he counted out the pills for Kazahaya: herbal supplements, mineral supplements, and vitamin supplements to embellish the typical cold medication.

Why it was that Kazahaya always got sick, and why it was that Rikuo was always the one to look after him, he had no idea. Saiga, he was convinced, would make a much better caregiver than he ever could. The man could cook and sew; who knew what else he was hiding? This… housework thing was his hobby; Rikuo wanted no part in it.

But, as usual, the excuses of 'he sleeps in the same room as you' and 'you're more… ahem… intimate with him than we are' prevailed on Kakei and Saiga's part, and he was left to almost burn his hand every time that darn kettle whistled. If truth be told, he didn't mind the kettle half as much as he let on; somehow, the sound of water being boiled gave him the feeling of being home. Kazahaya's sicknesses were a slight expense on his finances (and, no doubt, the boy's own as well), but in truth they did more damage to his nerves. That pale skin and hair and those child-like eyes made Kazahaya seem already fragile, and these constant maladies did nothing to dispel those assumptions. Rikuo had always been afraid he might one day break, and even more afraid it would be someday soon.

He lifted the tray containing Kazahaya's meal carefully, and tread lightly to the slightly open door of the bedroom. Peering in cautiously, he opened the door as noiselessly as possible so as not to wake Kazahaya should he be sleeping. To Rikuo's secret pleasure, he wasn't.

"So, how's the invalid today?" Rikuo teased with his usual smirk. Kazahaya, who was sweating profoundly and had the covers pulled up almost to his nose, was too tired to retort and merely grunted his displeasure.

"I'll take that to mean good, and that you're happy to see me," Rikuo supplied for him, putting down the tray on the small fold-out desk he had managed to find hiding in their accommodations. He sat down on his "nurse-chair", as he came to call it, and studied Kazahaya for a moment.

"You feeling any better?" he asked the bundle of blankets. He was barely able to perceive the shake of his head beneath all the material. "Well, not eating isn't going to help it. Come on, sit up, I made you some soup."

Kazahaya grunted again and slid deeper beneath the blankets. Rikuo, highly amused, only laughed at him. "You know you look absolutely ridiculous like that?"

At this comment, Kazahaya threw the covers off his face and glared daggers at Rikuo.

"You would too if you felt this bad," he managed to wheeze out in a nasally voice, eyes damp and swollen. He attempted to retreat back under the covers, but Rikuo was too fast for him.

"You're up now, so you're going to eat something."

"I'm not up," Kazahaya said indignantly, as nasal as ever. "I threw the covers off me for a second, that isn't the same thing as—hey, are you laughing at me!"

The bigger boy had tried to stifle his mirth, but it was nearly impossible with Kazahaya both indignant and nasal at the same time.

"Don't try to get mad while you're like that, it's not helping your case," Rikuo said with another smirk. He had slid a hand under Kazahaya's back and was gently getting him to sit up. Kazahaya was too incensed to notice.

"Don't tell me what to do!" he fumed, not realising that he was sitting upright and that Rikuo had already spooned out some soup and was ready to feed it to him. "My head feels like a ton of bricks," he moaned, and Rikuo took the opportunity to shove the spoon down his throat.

Surprised, Kazahaya sputtered for a moment before chewing and swallowing the mouthful. "Hey, that wasn't fai--!"

As he protested, Rikuo shoved another spoonful down his throat. Once again, Kazahaya swallowed quickly and tried to protest.

"Rikuo, sto—" again he was interrupted by a spoon.

"I can keep this up all night," Rikuo drawled, another spoonful at the ready. "Why don't you just make it easier for the both of us and just eat nicely?"

Kazahaya glared. "Fine. But I'll feed myself." He reached to grab the bowl and spoon from Rikuo, but missed and almost landed on the floor. Quickly balancing the bowl in one hand, Rikuo reached over to catch the smaller boy before he could fall.

"Yeah, I can see you're in great condition. The last thing I need is to be washing stained bed sheets." His other unvoiced thought was that Kakei and Saiga would never believe the blotches were soup stains. "Just sit still and I won't get it all over your chin."

Kazahaya complied, and soon the bowl was empty. As promised, there wasn't a single drop of soup on the sick boy's chin.

"And now, onto tea," Rikuo said with some alarming alacrity. "And pills," he added as an afterthought. Kazahaya, who was eyeing Rikuo with mistrust, seemed frightened.

"Why so many?" he asked.

"Well, since all you can manage to keep down is soup, you're not really getting any nutrition. These are just supplements to help you."

"Do I have to?"

"Look, I'm not waiting on you forever. If you don't get better soon, then you're on your own."

Slowly, Kazahaya gulped down all the pills and the tea, and Rikuo let him lie down again. He grabbed the basin from beside Kazahaya's bed and went outside to refill it with clean water. When he came back, he dipped the cloth in and wiped Kazahaya's forehead with it. The blond boy's eyes were already half-closed with weariness.

"Rikuo…" he murmured sleepily. "Rikuo… I feel so much more tired…"

"You took some pills—lots of pills—so they're bound to make you drowsy," the dark-haired boy replied, still administering the cloth. Accidentally, his hand slipped and he touched Kazahaya's forehead and found that it was boiling hot.

"Your fever's not getting better." He was starting to get very alarmed. Kazahaya's fever had kept up for a while now; it had started to decrease rapidly at first, but now it had mellowed out and was staying at a constant, albeit not normal, temperature.

"Your hands are so cold, Rikuo…" came the sleepy murmuring. "Just like… Kei's…"

Rikuo's hand wavered momentarily. Kei? Kazahaya had never talked about Kei, and Rikuo wondered who she was. He remembered the night when Kazahaya had shouted out her name at the park, and wondered if she was the one who he lived for.

"Her hands were always cold…" Kazahaya continued, turning his head slightly. Rikuo didn't know what to do; Kazahaya was obviously oblivious at this point, simply saying the first thing that came to mind (not that that was any different than usual, but this was something that Kazahaya might not want him to hear). Should he leave to be polite? He was just contemplating this when Kazahaya spoke up.

"Don't… stop…" he said in a sort of hoarse command, lips barely moving. Rikuo dipped the cloth in the basin and wringed it out, then placed it back on the other boy's burning brow.

"Who's… Tsukiko?"

The question stopped him dead in his tracks. So Kazahaya remembered the name he had so stupidly called out when that cat had shown him an illusion of her, just like he had remembered Kei. He knew the other boy would not remember this night the following day, and he knew that, under normal circumstances, Kazahaya wouldn't pry. And, that, for some reason, he needed to answer.

"She's… everything, and yet… nothing." He didn't know how to explain. How could he explain to Kazahaya when he didn't quite understand everything himself? He tried to think of a better way to put it, but Kazahaya didn't press him further. After a moment, he asked another question.

"If you ever saw her again… what would you say?"

He didn't know how to answer this one either; funny how Kazahaya was asking all the questions he had been asking himself lately.

"I don't know," he answered truthfully. "I—" he stopped short. This was a subject he didn't want to breach right now. Trying to change the subject, he asked Kazahaya, "What would you say to Kei if you saw her again?"

Kazahaya turned in his bed again. "Sorry… that I broke my promise… that she was the only one who… who…" he trailed off and never finished his sentence, and the silence was so absolute for so long that Rikuo was sure he had drifted off to sleep. He re-dipped the cloth and laid it again on Kazahaya's forehead and was about to leave when that soft voice called him back.

"Hey, Rikuo?"

He stopped mid-movement, not quite standing nor sitting. "Yeah?"

"If you had the choice of saving me again… would you still take me with you?"

Rikuo sat down again. Truthfully, he had wondered why he had ever picked Kazahaya up every day since… but he could also truthfully say he had never regretted it.

"Yeah," he answered, expression softening a little. "Yeah, I'd save you… and I'd save you proper next time around. Make sure you're happy… and never lonely." He looked down at the dozing face, framed beautifully by locks of fair hair. "And I would've started loving you sooner…" he whispered inaudibly.

Kazahaya smiled gently. "Hmm… that sounds nice…"

"Go to sleep, Kazahaya."

A small hand crept out from beneath the sheets and took hold of his. "Will you stay with me tonight, Rikuo?"

Surprised, Rikuo never answered but automatically stayed.

"I want chocolate…"

All of a sudden, Rikuo understood why Kazahaya had asked all those questions. When his hand had accidentally touched the other boy's forehead, his emotions must've overwhelmed the extremely susceptible senses of the sick Kazahaya. He could feel it now; there was an ebb and flow of emotions flowing in and out of his body. Suddenly sleepy, he lightly squeezed the delicate hand in his own rough one, and promptly fell asleep.

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_(The next morning…)_

"What the hell are you doing in my bed!"

**END** (or is it?)

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_AN:_ Well, there it is. Hopefully you liked it. I might add a humorous side story should muses and time permit. 


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